ARC+ Buildgreen Adaptive Reuse Site Visit - The Royal /Knoxon Motel

"In 2006, Miami declared a 27-block stretch of Biscayne Boulevard a MiMo (Miami Modern architecture) historic district. In Miami’s Upper East Side, from Morningside to Belle Meade, this district consists mostly of mid-20th century motels, which were wildly popular among middle-class tourists who drove into town in the 1950s and ‘60s."

As part of the ongoing ARC+ Buildgreen program, the Vagabond Group and Developer Avra Jain, hosted students from the FIU School of Architecture & the Arts to an informative site visit exploring MiMo Architecture and the historic renovation of The Royal / Knoxon designed in 1951 by Architect Norman M. Giller.

"Located on the northeast corner of NE 74th Street and Biscayne Boulevard, the present Royal Motel was actually designed for use as individual apartments, apparently the reason it is called a hotel. The two-story building contained a total of twelve apartments, some of which contained kitchenettes and pulmanettes. While the lobby fronts on Biscayne Boulevard, the mass of the building extends along NE 74th Street. The building takes a simple rectangular shape with identical detail on the first and second floors. The impression of sleekness is created by the cantilevered balcony roof along with the cantilever of the roof that projects from the lobby. The most dramatic detail is the wall that extends perpendicularly above the second floor roof and carries the signage for the motel."